The Mail Bag
Deflections and Reflections!
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With this being Moyes' 300th game in charge, it was a landmark of sorts. He has now had a considerable time in charge which has seen us become fairly regular in the top 6 of the league. When I reflect on the time we have been under him, my overall thought is one of pride.
I have to say, I was not very confident going into the away game at Spurs though, after what I saw against Wigan on Monday night. The return of Pienaar instilled a bit of confidence though. Moyes reverted back to his tried and trusted 4-5-1 with Cahill playing in the hole behind the Yak. Arteta for once played in the middle of the park.
The game started at a good tempo and it was plain to see why there has been a Spurs resurgence... they have a great midfield with Lennon in particular looking good. Very soon after the start, the Yak stayed down after an aerial challenge and surprisingly hobbled off and never came back on. Saha replaced him and the Spurs continued to use Lennon to good effect on the right.
Thankfully for us, Bent and Pavluchenko were not playing as well as their midfield team-mates. When we attacked, we seemed to lack a presence upfront with Saha not holding the ball up too well. Shots from Fellaini and Osman summed our contributions of the half.
The 2nd half started in comical fashion as Pienaar came out wearing Ossie's shirt and was promptly sent back by the ref to get his own shirt. (Imagine having 2 Ossies in the midfield!!!). We started much the better and were looking composed on the ball. From a free kick... Arteta played the ball through to Pienaar who shaped and cracked one at Gomes but it got a wicked deflection and nestled in the back of the net... prompting Pienaar to take his shirt off..revealing a "God is Great" slogan... promptly got booked for that though.
The game then came to life with both sides making changes but ours was not tactical but because Saha got injured (again). came Vic and we played on. Spurs had some great chances and when the ref indicated 6 mins of added time, I feared the worst. We could have added to our lead at the end with a few breaks but we held on well for a well deserved win.
Player ratings:
Howard: Brilliant... especially in comaprsion to Gomes at the other end, turning into a legend for us.
Neville: Solid game
Jags: Player of the season so far for us
Yobo: Few nervy moments but got away with it.
Lescott: Looked vulnerable at times but got away with it.
Fellaini: Needs to increase his speed but his overall impact on the game was good.
Arteta: Much better game today and would love him in the same role in the future.
Ossie: Did well today and realised that he had a huge fan within his own team who even wears his shirt to the games!
Pienaar: Welcome return..looked good and made the difference today.
Cahill: Looked more comfortable in his usual role.
Yak: That's that for the season then... poor chap
Subs:
Saha: Should have buried the goal from the Cahill cross... injured again, for how long?
Vic: Will be a good back up but will not be able to start game in and out for us up front.
Baines: Would love to see him on the left side of a midfield.
All in all a great result but a heavy price with subsequent news of a ruptured Achilles Tendon for the Yak... we need to get someone on loan and maybe sign another cheap striker in Jan..also need some midfield cover too in case we get more injuries. Villa next and that too at home for us, where we have been woeful this year, will be a real test of our character...COYB
Santosh Benjamin, Posted 30/11/2008 at 22:27:21
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On another point, I never knew Pienaar was deep baritone in voice. I was expecting high and squeeky... most strange.
Well done David on 300 games in charge. I think all should admit we’ve made real progress in that time and that stability is very important to being successful. COYB
The Yak?s injury apart, the only negative for me was that we didn?t win by more. As they pushed up in the second half, we counter attacked reasonably well and with some telling pace in the final quarter, we?d have had three or four.
"But Everton stood firm in the face of a constant barrage of high balls into their box, and deservedly took the points back to Merseyside from The Lane for the third season in a row."
Very magnanimous of them ? and true!
Santosh, nice post. One thing though, I think Vic has no option but to start up front now, he’s the only senior striker left.
Owen in January, anyone?
ps ? I?ve said this in other threads ? but Joleon Lescott might make a wonderful centre forward, and I?m unlikely ever to see it happen.
I’m hopeful our run of fixtures will be kind to us. It seems playing the teams in the Uefa Cup after their Thursday night game might help us. Villa lost at home to Boro and away at Newcastle after their European fixtures. Let’s hope this means we’ll catch them cold on Sunday.
It?s worthwhile remembering that Steven Pienaar had a quite difficult time at Borrussia Dortmund but has proved to be a great signing for us. Nugent could do well at Goodison and prove his critics wrong at the same time. He certainly would welcome the move he is as an Evertonian!!
We all say the buck stops with Moyes regarding the on-field performance. But since Moyes can only buy what he can afford (which is fuck all ? hence loan buys to replace Yakubu... fuckin' marvellous), which means under BK?s tenure we will NEVER sign an expensive top-class proven player. We will NEVER play an expansive attractive game week-in, week-out. The ultimate blame starts with BK. No investment in the club, poor business management, fake transfer bids, shoddy stadium proposal.
As far as a replacement for the Yak goes, I hope that there is no panic. We couldn?t afford the wages Owen would demand, or Heskey for that matter. Nugent is not good enough and I doubt that Larsson would, at 37, fit into a Moyes-style team.
I think this season is a write-off, therefore I would give Vic a run in the side with Cahill playing just behind. Saha may not be out too long and surely if Lucas is ever going to make it he deserves a chance as sub at least. We should be able to scrape together enough points to stay out of trouble and try to prepare for next season.
None of this is going to have supporters flocking to watch the team but the root of our current troubles lies in the mismanagement of last summer. It is time David Moyes learned from his mistakes, our preparation must be complete by June.
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1 Posted 01/12/2008 at 00:22:16
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We are one tackle away from completely losing our first team strikeforce. Some of you have suggested some potential names and I just wanted to throw a few more ideas into the mix.
With the MLS season just ending, there are a few decent players that I can think of that could provide the stop gap that we need plus these players are match fit. Some of the names that come to mind are: Juan Pablo Angel, Brian Ching and Kenny Cooper.
JPA although long in the tooth, has PL experience and could be a nice fit. Brian Ching has experience playing for the US National Team as does Kenny Cooper. Another option would be to scout the Russian League and some of the other leagues that are done with their seasons. What do the rest of you think?